OpenAI announces the shutdown of Sora and the termination of collaboration with Disney

OpenAI officially announced on March 24 local time that it will shut down the once wildly popular Sora video generation app, while also terminating its $1 billion milestone collaboration agreement with Disney.

It is reported that the Sora iOS app, API service, and the Sora.com website will all stop operating, with a specific timetable to be released soon. Media reports say that the Sora research team will continue to focus on world model research to advance the development of robotics technology and help people solve physical tasks in the real world.

Information posted by the Sora team on social platforms.

Industry insiders analyze that Sora’s shutdown reflects a strategic shift on OpenAI’s part. With competition in the AI industry growing increasingly fierce, pressure from rivals such as Anthropic and Google continues to mount, and OpenAI is reallocating resources to areas with greater profit potential, such as capital, chips, and enterprise products.

Running video generation services consumes massive computing resources and electricity, which is a huge expense for any company. Media reports say that Sora’s operations have already had an obvious impact on how other teams allocate computing power.

Looking back on Sora’s development, its rise and fall is truly heartbreaking. In early 2024, when OpenAI first launched Sora, it shocked the entire tech industry. This software, which can generate high-quality videos comparable to feature-length films based on text prompts, sent shockwaves through the industry. The launch of Sora directly prompted many AI companies to accelerate the release of their own AI video generation models.

In September 2025, OpenAI created a standalone Sora application, allowing users to incorporate themselves into short videos. OpenAI had envisioned using AI video technology to build an AI-era social network around sharing works. However, it didn’t last long. According to TechCrunch, by January of this year, Sora’s downloads had plunged by 45%. Although some employees on the Sora team were still surprised when they learned about these changes on Tuesday morning, just a day earlier OpenAI had published an article about Sora’s safety standards.

Sora’s shutdown also signals the end of major cooperation between OpenAI and Disney. Earlier, the two companies announced that they had reached a three-year licensing agreement that allows Sora users to generate AI short videos using more than 200 iconic characters from Disney, such as Mickey Mouse. The deal was seen as an important milestone for collaboration between the tech industry and Hollywood, and it also raised concerns among content creators that AI could replace actors and creators.

In a post on social media, the Sora team wrote: “We’re going to say goodbye to Sora… We know this news is disappointing.” This AI video product that once shook the entire industry has come to a poignant end.

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